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Breeders' Cup
World Championships Wrap Up

Date: 11/05/2018


The grandstand at Churchill Downs on Saturday of the Breeders' Cup.

Saturday Results Summary:   F&M Sprint -  Turf Sprint -  Dirt Mile -  F&M Turf -  Sprint -  Mile -  Distaff -  Turf -  Classic
Friday Results Summary: Juvenile Turf Sprint -  Juvenile Fillies Turf -  Juvenile Fillies -  Juvenile Turf -  Juvenile  
Entries   -   Saturday Works   -   Sunday Works   -   Monday Works   -   Tuesday Works   -   Wednesday Works   -   Thursday Works

The 35th Breeders' Cup World Championships held on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, 2018, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are now in the record book. The combined total attendance over the two days was 112,672, of which 70,423 were on Saturday. Total handle for the two-day event of was $157,445,841, the fifth highest since Breeders' Cup adopted a two-day format in 2007. Total handle on Saturday's nine Breeders' Cup races was $96,018,060, a 4% decrease from the $99,833,643 bet on the nine Breeders' Cup races in 2017. Common-pool handle on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was $105,229,197

Breeders' Cup president and CEO Craig Fravel said, "Once again the Breeders' Cup proved a fitting showcase for world championship performances and the best in international racing. We want to thank our gracious hosts from Churchill Downs, the greater Louisville community, our fans around the world as well the owners and breeders who participate in our racing programs for an incredible week capped by two extraordinary days of racing."

This year was the ninth time the Breeders' Cup has been held at Churchill Downs. The Breeders' Cup will return to Santa Anita in Arcadia, California in 2019, and will be held at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky in 2020 and at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, California in 2021.


Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates after winning the Juvenile Fillies Turf. He had a total of 2 wins, 3 seconds, a third and a fourth.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who won 2 races and finishing in the top four in 5 other races won the 16th Bill Shoemaker Award, given to the most outstanding rider at the Championships. The Shoemaker Award is based on a 10-5-3-1 scoring system on first through fourth place finishes in each of the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races. Ortiz won aboard Newspaperofrecord (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Shamrock Rose (Filly and Mare Sprint), to go with runner-up finishes with Uncle Benny (Juvenile Turf), World of Trouble (Turf Sprint), and Gunnevera (Classic). He was third aboard Analyze It in the Mile and fourth aboard Firenze Fire in the Dirt Mile, netting him 35 points over the 30 points earned by Javier Castellano.

Joel Rosario led all jockeys with three wins, riding Accelerate (Classic), Game Winner (Juvenile), and Jaywalk (Juvenile Fillies). After Ortiz Jr., Javier Castellano also had two wins (Bulletin in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, City of Light in the Dirt Mile) as did Frankie Dettori, sweeping the Championships' 2 original grass events, the Mile on Expert Eye and the Turf on Enable.

Joel Rosario joins three other riders that have won three Breeders' Cup races in a single Championship. Garrett Gomez holds the single Championship record with four winners in 2008 at Santa Anita and he also rode three winners in the 2010 Championships at Churchill Downs. Mike Smith has done it twice at Santa Anita in 2013 and 2016 and Julien Leparoux had three winners at Santa Anita in 2009.

Despite being shut out in the win column, Mike Smith still leads all jockeys with 26 Championship wins, well ahead of the 16 won by John Velazquez, and also continues to lead by earnings, with $35,930,605 wih Velazquez second with $27,046,275.

With all his entrants, Bob Baffert only had 1 win, Game Winner in the Juvenile on Friday. Despite this, Baffert still leads all trainers in Cup purses with $28,761,000. Ireland's Aidan O'Brien was shut out despute shipping in a 15-horse contingent, but he still is second in earning with $23,213,590.

There were several jockeys and trainers who had their first wins in the Breeders' Cup this year:

John Sadler finally won a Breeders' Cup race with his 45th starter, Accelerate.


Roy H in the winner's circle with trainer Peter Miller to his right.
Three defending champions were back, and two were successful, both trained by Peter Miller. Roy H was a repeat winner in the Sprint and stablemate Stormy Liberal repeated as the Turf Sprint champion. 2017 Turf winner Talismanic checked in 6th behind Enable this year.

Favorites fared very well this year with five top choices and six second choices winning. Newspaperofrecord's $3.20 win mutual in the Juvenile Fillies Turf was the lowest of the weekend. The highest price winner of the weekend came from the Filly and Mare Sprint with Shamrock Rose paying a healthy $53.80.

Five of the 14 winners are Southern California based, led by Accelerate (Classic) and joined by Game Winner (Juvenile), Stormy Liberal (Turf Sprint) Roy H (Sprint), and City of Light (Dirt Mile). Europe was represented by three winners - Enable (Turf), Expert Eye (Mile) and Line of Duty (Juvenile Turf). New York also had 3 winners - Sistercharlie (Filly and Mare Turf), Newspaperofrecord (Juvenile Fillies Turf), and Jaywalk (Juvenile Fillies). Kentucky had 2 winners - Monomoy Girl (Distaff) and Shamrock Rose (Filly and Mare Sprint), while Bulletin (Juvenile Turf Sprint) is based in Florida.

It appeared that every Breeders' Cup entrant safely completed their races and returned to be unsaddled, although Glorious Empire (Turf) and Roaring Lion (Classic) were officially "eased" home.

Breeders' Cup Two-Day Attendance and Handle history 

2017   Del Mar                 70,420    $166,077,486
2016   Santa Anita Park       118,484    $156,861,811
2015   Keeneland Race Course   94,652    $149,869,035
2014   Santa Anita Park        98,319    $151,158,813
2013   Santa Anita Park        94,628    $160,704,877
2012   Santa Anita Park        89,742    $144,272,332
2011   Churchill Downs        105,820    $161,512,867
2010   Churchill Downs        114,353    $173,857,697
2009   Santa Anita Park        96,496    $153,271,176
2008   Santa Anita Park        86,588    $155,740,328
2007   Monmouth Park           69,584    $129,197,262

Breeders' Cup World Championships Leading Jockeys 

(by wins)                       (by earnings)
Trainer              Wins        Trainer                 Earnings
Mike Smith            26         Mike Smith           $35,930,605
John Velazquez        16         John Velazquez       $27,046,275
Jerry Bailey          15         Frankie Dettori      $24,603,862
Frankie Dettori       14         Pat Day              $23,033,360
Garrett Gomez         13         Jerry Bailey         $22,006,440
Pat Day               12         Gary Stevens         $20,299,255

Breeders' Cup World Championships Leading Trainers 

(by wins)                       (by earnings)
Trainer              Wins        Trainer                 Earnings
D. Wayne Lukas        20         Bob Baffert          $28,761,000
Bob Baffert           15         Aidan O'Brien        $23,213,590
Chad Brown            12         D. Wayne Lukas       $22,672,520
Aidan O'Brien         12         Bill Mott            $18,698,900
Todd Pletcher         10         Todd Pletcher        $17,678,030
Shug McGaughey         9         Chad Brown           $14,926,680
Bill Mott              9
Richard Mandella       9
Sir Michael Stoute     8
Saturday Results Summary:   F&M Sprint -  Turf Sprint -  Dirt Mile -  F&M Turf -  Sprint -  Mile -  Distaff -  Turf -  Classic
Friday Results Summary: Juvenile Turf Sprint -  Juvenile Fillies Turf -  Juvenile Fillies -  Juvenile Turf -  Juvenile  
Entries   -   Saturday Works   -   Sunday Works   -   Monday Works   -   Tuesday Works   -   Wednesday Works   -   Thursday Works

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